There are many variations of paella depending on which region in Spain you happen to live. The staples of the dish include rice and saffron, but any ingredients can be added depending on what you have on hand. Some primarily contain meat, like the Valencian version made with chicken or rabbit, while others contain seafood, vegetables or all three. Our version is a mix of meat and seafood — sure to please any crowd.
1 whole chicken, approximately 4 pounds, cut into 10 pieces
1¾ teaspoons kosher salt, divided
¾ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, divided
1 teaspoon olive oil
9 ounces Spanish chorizo, cut into ½-inch slices
5 garlic cloves, peeled
1 medium onion, cut into 1-inch pieces
¼ teaspoon smoked paprika
1 or 2 sprigs fresh oregano
1 can (28 ounces) plum tomatoes, drained well
2 cups bomba* rice
3 cups hot chicken broth, low sodium
Large pinch saffron
1 pound shrimp, rinsed, peeled and deveined
12 littleneck clams, scrubbed
½ cup peas, fresh or frozen ( thawed)
½ cup chopped parsley
½ lemon, juiced
Lemon wedges for serving
Nutritional information per serving:
Calories 497 (36% from fat) • carb. 38g • pro. 39g • fat 20g • sat. fat 6g
chol. 150mg • sod. 1116mg • calc. 90mg • fiber 2g
1. Season the chicken parts on both sides with 1 teaspoon salt and ½ teaspoon pepper. Heat the olive oil in the paella pan over medium-high heat. Rotate pan throughout cooking to ensure even heating. Once the oil is hot, add the chicken to the pan and reduce the heat to medium; brown the chicken in 2 batches, about 8 to 10 minutes per side. Remove and reserve. Add the chorizo and brown until slightly crispy, 2 to 3 minutes per side.
2. While the chicken and chorizo are browning, insert the chopping blade into the work bowl of a Cuisinart® Food Processor. While the unit is running, drop the garlic cloves down the small feed tube to finely chop. Add the onion to the work bowl and pulse to finely chop, about 8 pulses.
3. Add the garlic and onion to the paella pan with the browned chorizo, paprika, oregano and ¼ teaspoon salt. Sauté until vegetables are soft and lightly browned, 3 to 4 minutes. Rotate pan to ensure even heating.
4. While the vegetables are sautéing, add the well-drained tomatoes to the food processor and pulse to roughly chop, about 4 pulses. Add the chopped tomatoes to the paella pan with sautéed vegetables. Increase the heat to medium-high and cook until tomato juices are reduced and tomatoes are slightly caramelized, about 10 minutes. Stir occasionally to prevent burning.
5. Add the rice to the paella pan and stir to coat with tomato mixture. Add the hot broth and saffron; stir together well. Bring mixture to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer, stirring gently, until most of the broth is absorbed and rice has increased in volume, about 10 minutes. Rotate pan to ensure even heating.
6. Nestle the reserved chicken pieces into the rice. Cover and simmer gently, until rice is mostly tender and a crust begins to form on the bottom of the pan, about 15 minutes. Again, rotate pan to ensure even heating.
7. While the chicken is simmering, season shrimp with remaining salt and pepper. Once the rice is mostly tender, add the seasoned shrimp to the paella pan with the clams in the center. Cover and continue to simmer gently until clamshells have opened, about 20 minutes.
8. Sprinkle paella with peas, chopped parsley and lemon juice.
9. Remove from heat and let stand, uncovered, for about 5 minutes. Serve with lemon wedges on the side.
* Bomba rice is a Spanish, medium-grain rice, perfect for paella. If not available, Arborio rice may be substituted.
